Icelandic  Language  

bbc.co.uk/blogs/radio4/  

Outline  

1.  History  2.  Alphabet  /  pronuncia>on  3.  Basic  phrases  4.  Basic  geology  terms  

History  

Boeckaert  et  al.  (2012)  

History  –  old  scripts  

•  Icelandic  Sagas  from  the  1200s  preserve  a  wriJen  language  similar  to  present  

•  Documented  an  era  of  Norse  conquest  and  the  seJlement  of  Iceland  

•   Modern  Icelanders  can  read  these  texts  with  only  minor  spelling  modifica>ons  

•  Pronuncia>on  changed  considerably  between  12th  and  16th  centuries  

 Njáls  saga  (circa  1350)  -­‐  wikipedia.org/wiki/saga  

Alphabet  

mmedia.is  

Pronuncia>on  

•  a  –  (car,  bar)  •  á  –  ou  (house)  •  e  –  (bed,  end)  •  é  =  je  –  ye  (yet)  •  i,y  –  (inside,  impossible)  •  í,ý  –  ee    •  j  –  y  (yes)  •  o  –  (bolt)  •  ó  –  oa  (goat)  •  u  –  like  german  ü  (über)  •  ú  –  oo  (zoo)  •  æ  –  as  in  hæ  (iden>cal  to  hi)  and  bæ  (iden>cal  to  bye)  •  ö  –  as  in  German,  or  like  u  in  urgent  

en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Icelandic/Alphabet_and_Pronuncia>on/  

Pronuncia>on  

A is like "a" in "bar", "tar" and "car"

Á is like "ou" in "house", "about" and "shout"

B same as English P, but without the puff of air, as in "spit"

D same as English T, but without the puff of air, as if "stick"

Ð is like "th" in "feather", "father" and "that", but as the last letter of a word it represents Þ/þ.

E same as in English except that it's always short, like in "bed" and "end"

É is like "ye" in "yet" (used to be spelled in Icelandic "je" and is pronounced the same, see "j" and "e" in Icelandic)

F same as in English (From)

G like "k" in "wick" at the beginning of a word, between a vowel and -l, -n; /ɣ/ after vowels, before a, u, ð, r, and when it's the last character of a word; like "ch" in Scottish "loch" after vowels and before t, s; like "y" in "young" between vowel and -i, -j; dropped between a, á, ó, u, ú

!

H same as in English "hello"

I is like the first "i" in "inside" and "impossible"

Í like an English "ee" and the "i" in "Maria" and the "y" in "diary"

J is like "y" in "yes", "Yahweh", "Yoda" and "yikes"

K same as in English "king"

L same as in English "love"

M same as in English "mom"

N same as in English "never"

!

en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Icelandic/Alphabet_and_Pronuncia>on/  

Pronuncia>on  

O like "a" in British English "all" and "o" in "bolt"

Ó is like "o" in "sole" and like "oa" in "goat" and "soap"

P generally same as in English "Peter", but can be softer

R non-existent in English except Scottish English, virtually identical to a Spanish rolled R, from the very front of the mouth

S same as in English "soup"

T same as in English "time"

U virtually identical to a French "u" (as in "cul"), or a German "ü" (as in "über")

Ú like English "oo" as in "zoo"

V somewhere between English V and W

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X same as in English "six"

Y exactly like Icelandic "i", it's only a matter of spelling

Ý exactly like Icelandic "í", it's only a matter of spelling

Þ like "th" in "thunder", "theatre" and "thong"

Æ is like the name of the letter "i" in English or in "icy" (hi/hæ & bye/bæ are the same in English and Icelandic)

Ö like German "ö" and English "u" in "urgent" or "fur"

!

en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Icelandic/Alphabet_and_Pronuncia>on/  

Pronuncia>on  –  double  leJers  au    Like  "ur"  in  "fur"  (do  not  prononce  the  r)  followed  by  "ee"  in  "see"  but  with  no  intervening  "r"  -­‐  "u(r)-­‐ee",  similar  to  "oy"  in  "boy".  ei,  ey    Like  "ay"  in  "say".  gi,  gj    Like  "gy"  in  "drag-­‐you"  at  word  start;  like  "y"  in  "yes"  in  word  middle  or  at  word  end.  hv    Like  "kv"  in  "lock  vent".  kk    Like  "chk"  in  Scofsh  "Loch  Carron".  ll    Like  "tl"  in  "seJle".  Similar  to  Welsh  "ll"  (double  L)  but  more  aspirated  (has  more  air  to  it).  ng    Like  "nk"  in  "thinker",  not  "ng"  in  "finger".  nn    Like  "dn"  in  "hard-­‐nosed"  when  aier  "á",  "é",  "í",  "ó",  "ú",  "ý",  "æ",  "au",  "ei",  or  "ey";  or  like  "nn"  in  "tunnel"  aier  "a",  "e",  "i",  "o",  "u",  "y"  or  "ö".  pp    Like  "h"  and  "p"  fused  together,  similar  to  "hop"  without  the  "o".  rl    Like  "dl"  in  "riddle"  similar  in  form  to  Welsh  "ll"  (double  L)  but  said  harder.  rn    Like  "dn"  in  "hard-­‐nosed"  when  aier  "á",  "é",  "í",  "ó",  "ú",  "ý",  "æ",  "au",  "ei",  or  "ey".  1    Like  "h"  and  "t"  fused  together,  similar  to  "hut"  without  the  "u".  

wikitravel.org/en/Icelandic_phrasebook/  

Coun>ng  to  10  1    einn,  (masculine)  (ay-­‐dn)  ein,  (feminine)  (ayn)  eiJ,  (neuter)  (ay-­‐ht)  2    tveir,  (masculine)  (tvay-­‐r)  tvær,  (feminine)  (tvigh-­‐r)  tvö,  (neuter)  (tw-­‐uh)  \  3    þrír,  (masculine)  (threer)  þrjár,  (feminine)  (three-­‐yow-­‐r')  þrjú,  (neuter)  (three-­‐oo)  4    mórir,  (masculine)  (fee-­‐oh-­‐rir)  mórar,  (feminine)  (fee-­‐oh-­‐rar)  mögur,  (neuter)  (fee-­‐uh-­‐grr)  

5    fimm  (fim)  6    sex  (sex)  7    sjö  (see-­‐uh)  8    áJa  (ow-­‐tah)  9    níu  (nee-­‐uh)  10    nu  (tee-­‐uh)  

wikitravel.org/en/Icelandic_phrasebook/  

Basics  Hello.    Halló.  (Hah-­‐low)  Hello  (informal,  to  a  man).    Sæll.  (Sight-­‐l.)  Hello  (informal,  to  a  woman).    Sæl.  (Sigh-­‐l.)  Hi.    Hæ.  (High.)  Like  the  English  word.  Common  amongst  younger  genera;ons.  Good  morning.    Góðan  daginn.  (Goh-­‐dhan  da-­‐kin.)  Good  evening.    GoJ  kvöld.  (Got  kvur-­‐lt.)  Goodbye,  (informal).    Bless.  (Bless;  o@en  said  twice,  "Bless  bless".)  What  is  your  name?    Hvað  hei>rðu?  (Kvadh  hay-­‐;r-­‐dhu?)  My  name  is  ______  .    Ég  hei>  ______  .  (Yeh  hay-­‐;  _____  .)  Nice  to  meet  you.    Komdu  sæll,  (to  a  man).  (Komdu  sight-­‐l.)  Komdu  sæl,  (to  a  woman).  (Komdu  sighl.)        

Do  you  speak  English?    Talarðu  ensku?  (Ta-­‐lar-­‐dhu  en-­‐sku?)  Yes.    Já.  (Yaw.)  or  Jú  (Yoo;  answering  a  nega;ve  ques;on).  OK.    Allt  í  lagí.  (Atlt  ee  lak-­‐i.)  or  Ókei  (Oh-­‐kay;  this  is  used  amongst  younger  genera;ons.)  No.    Nei.  (Nay.)  Excuse  me,  (geUng  a1enVon).    Afsakið.  (Av-­‐sak-­‐idh.)  Excuse  me,  (begging  pardon).    Fyrirgefðu.  (Fi-­‐rir-­‐gyev-­‐dhu.)  Please.    Gjörðu  svo  vel,  (to  one  person).  (Gyer-­‐dhu  svo  vel.)  or  Gerið  þið  svo  vel,  (to  many  people).  (Ger-­‐adh  thi-­‐dh  svo  vel.)  Thank  you.    Þakka  þér  fyrir.  (Thah-­‐ka  thyer  fi-­‐rir.)  Thanks  (informal)    Takk.  (Tahk.)        

 

wikitravel.org/en/Icelandic_phrasebook/  

Reading  a  map  

Trölladyngja  =  chamber  of  trolls  

Þrihyrningur  –  triangle  /  threesome?  

jökull  =  glacier  

möll  =  mountains  

vikur  =  weeks;  sandur  =  sand  weeks  of  sand?  

vatn  =  water  

hraun  =  lava  

fell  =  mountain  

á  =  stream  

Vikraborgir  =  pumice  ci>es  

www.vatnajokulsthjodgardur.is  

Basic  Geology  Terms  

•  jökull  –  glacier    •  mörðurinn  -­‐  mord  •  mall/fell  (möll)  –  mountain  (mountains)  •  eldmall  –  volcano    •  dalur  -­‐  valley  •  eyja  –  island    •  vatn  –  water    •  stöðuvatn  –  lake  •  fljót  –  river  •  á  –  stream  /  river  •  foss  -­‐  waterfall  •  hraun  -­‐  lava    •  Eyjamallajökull  –  island  mountain  glacier  

translate.google.com  

References  

1.  Remco  Bouckaert  et  al.  (2012).  Mapping  the  Origins  and  Expansion  of  the  Indo-­‐European  Language  Family.  Science.    

2.  wikitravel.org/en/Icelandic_phrasebook/  3.  en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Icelandic/Alphabet_and_Pronuncia>on/  4.  Addi>onal  pictures  from  

–  wikipedia.org/wiki/sagas  –  bbc.co.uk/blogs/radio4/  –  mmedia.is  –  www.vatnajokulsthjodgardur.is